origin and history of this much admired hymn. Some assert the hymn had been composed by Theodulph, who was a French abbot, and was confined in Angers for having combined with the two sons of the Emperor Louis the Pious against their father. It is said that Theodulph, during the period in which he was incarcerated by order of the Emperor Louis, on hearing the singing of the hymn whilst the procession on Palm Sunday, in which the emperor was walking, was passing his prison, he joined in the chant through his dungeon bars, at which the emperor was so affected that he immediately ordered his liberation. After his liberation, he became Bishop of Orleans. Others assert that Rinald, Bishop of Langres, was the author of this beautiful hymn.

KNOCKING AT THE DOORS WITH THE CROSS.

The grand procession moved round, and arrived at the great doors, when the more advanced choristers entered, and then closed the portals against the approaching procession, to represent the barring of the gates of paradise against the degenerate children of fallen Adam by original sin. Those inside then sang the hymns, representing the heavenly hosts, chaunting the divine praises-they were responded to by the multitudes outside, to signify that the Church militant, those yet journeying on their earthly pilgrimage, desired at this season of reconciliation, to echo in this world their celestial songs of jubilee, and that they wished with yearning hearts to be associated with the citizens of God's kingdom. The doors, however, were impassably closed, and could only be opened by the atoning blood of the adorable Lamb, immolated on the altar of the cross. To imply the necessity of employing His mediation, the doors were then struck outside three times with the

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THE FLITTING ANGEL OF DEATH.

processional cross. The appeal was irresistible. Those inside immediately opened the gates, representing the veil of the temple being rent asunder, and the bursting of the gates of Gaza by another Samson, the strong One, emblematical of the bursting by Christ of those eternal gates, which open to our everlasting inheritances, and through which all the processionists, as the children of Adam, entered and joined their voices with those within, as with the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, in one united harmonious chorus of the divine praises; and thus all advanced towards the altar with palms in their hands, to adore the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne for ever and ever.

THE OBELISK-THE BRESCA FAMILY-AND THE PALMS.

The palms are annually supplied by the representative for the time being of the Bresca family, to whose predecessor and his descendants that privilege was granted on the occasion of the erection of the great obelisk of the Vatican, by Pope Sixtus V.

This obelisk was quarried about the time of the birth of Moses, in the year 1571 before the coming of Christ. It is believed by antiquarians to have been originally erected to ornament the temple of the sun at Heliopolis, with two others, one of which now stands in the Piazza del Popolo, and the other which is still standing on its ancient site before the temple, and which were placed there by order of King Rameses. It may have been that this obelisk was fanned by the wings of the destroying angel as he flitted on his mission of justice, despatched by the Omnipotent Avenger! It may have been that Moses and the tribes of Israel, on their passage from Egypt towards the Red Sea, marched beneath the base of that obelisk! Interesting relic! It was discovered in the

ERECTION OF THE OBELISK.

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circus of Nero, on the spot where the vestry of St. Peter's now stands. It is the only one of the obelisks of Rome which is entire and unbroken. It was erected on its present site in its perpendicular position by Pope Sixtus V. in the year 1586.

A minute account of the vast ship which was constructed by the Emperor Caligula to convey this ponderous shaft of red granite from Egypt to Rome, as well as the particulars of the voyage, are recorded by the historian Pliny, and also by Suetonius. The ship was subsequently sunk, to form the foundation of the pier of the port of Ostia, by the Emperor Claudius. The obelisk, this mighty mass of stone, weighs 993,537 pounds, and the contemplated erection of the obelisk on its end on the pedestal intended for it, was, by some architects of celebrity, considered to be absolutely impossible. Pope Sixtus V. invited all the architects of the world who regarded it as possible to erect it unbroken, to send in their designs. Five hundred of the most scientific scholars and eminent engineers of the world sent in their designs, of which that sent in by Dominica Fontana was approved of, and pronounced the most practical. A painting representing the entire operation of this triumph of engineering skill is to be seen, executed in fresco, on the wall of the Vatican library. Six hundred men, 140 horses, and 46 great cranes were employed on the occasion. The expense amounted to 37,975 scudi or Roman crowns. The simultaneous movements of all engaged were regulated by preconcerted signals, to prevent confusion: silence was so indispensable for success, that the Pope forbade any one to speak a word, under pain of the weightiest punishment. High Mass was celebrated in St. Peter's, and the Pope solemnly imparted his benediction to the engineer and his co-operators; then

the operation proceeded amidst the intense anxiety of the assembled thousands of spectators. Two motions were required-first, the horizontal one to raise it off the ground, and which, if not perfectly equalized, would certainly break the shaft; and secondly, the perpendicular motion, to erect it on its base. All proceeded successfully till the mass of stone was raised within a short distance of its destination, when it was discovered that the mighty tension on the ropes stretched them more than was calculated, and they could raise the obelisk no higher. All was consternation-when the predecessor of the Bresca family, who was a Genoese, undeterred by fear of the signal punishment threatened, cried out "wet the ropes!" Fontana caught the suggestion, the ropes were copiously wetted, which caused them to shrink and raise the obelisk the little elevation that was still required to reach its destination. The acclamations of joy were enthusiastic and thrilling, and as a reward, the Pope conferred on Bresca and his descendants for ever, the privilege of supplying the Vatican with palm branches on Palm Sunday, which is a source of considerable annual revenue. The Pope rewarded Fontana by making him a present of the scaffolding materials and machinery employed in the erection, which amounted to the value of 20,000 scudi. The base of the column is eight feet ten inches square, and is not fastened to the pedestal; but its weight is so great that it stands securely, and on the backs of four panting bronze lions. Unlike other obelisks, it has no Egyptian hieroglyphics, but retains its Roman words of dedication to the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius. The shaft alone is eighty-two feet two inches in height-it is surmounted by a bronze cross-and from the ground, including the base, to the top of the cross, it is 132 feet two inches in

THE GRAND PENITENTIARY.

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height. It is a curious fact that though it is probable it was intended that it should stand in the very centre of a line drawn from the centre of the dome through the nave of St. Peter's and through the piazza, the centre of the obelisk is eleven feet north of that line-but the façade and piazza are so vast, that no ordinary eye could detect this deviation. The former bronze cross at its apex was removed in 1740, and was replaced by the present one in which is deposited a considerable portion of the true cross.

RETURN OF THE PROCESSION.

On the return of the procession to the tribune, mass was solemnly chaunted by a cardinal priest. The Gospel of the mass of Palm Sunday is the history of the Passion of our blessed Lord according to St. Matthew. That of Tuesday in Holy Week, the history according to St. Markand of Spy Wednesday and Good Friday, those of St. Luke and St. John. The history of the Passion according to St. Matthew was most plaintively chaunted on this day by three deacons. The peculiar style of this impressive chaunt is derived from very remote antiquity. In the ancient classic ages of Greece and Rome, tragic pieces were recited first by one, and then by the union of two or more persons in prolonged dolorous intonations. The mode adopted by the Church in chaunting the Passion of our Lord very much resembles this ancient classic style. At the offertory the Stabat Mater was sung. On this evening the cardinal grand penitentiary visits the church of St. John of Lateran, in great state, and is solemnly received by the canons, and sits in the confessional in commemoration of the custom of earlier ages, when sinners who were subjected by the discipline of the Church to public canonical penances, were received and reconciled on this day, to enable them to receive on next Sunday their paschal communion.